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  • 'The music, the setting, the sunset, the warmth… unforgettable'

    A sell out audience flocked to Worcester’s famous lake for a concert at the culmination of this academic year. Entitled “…And chant it as we go” after lines from a five-voice madrigal by Thomas Tomkins, the concert featured the College Choir alongside the famous ‘Allsorts’, Worcester College’s staff choir. Worcester College is unique in Oxford in running a staff choir, made up of members from across the diverse departments in the college. Audience members sipped Pimm’s to the sounds of sixteenth-century madrigals by Tomkins, Morley, Farmer and Gibbons, alongside two ABBA songs, folk songs and jazz numbers. Now in its fourth year, this concert is a true highlight in the College’s musical year.

    Look out for details of next year’s concert in 2019!

  • Interested in applying for the Worcester organ scholarship?

    Recent graduate DANIEL MATHIESON, now organ scholar of Salisbury Cathedral, reflects on the unique aspects of being an organ scholar at Worcester.

    Daniel Mathieson (at left) at Formal Hall after a service.

    The organ scholarship at Worcester College is a unique opportunity to spend three years as an organist, director and so much more in a welcoming and supportive community.

    I came to Worcester with little experience of choral music, having not been a Cathedral Chorister or had a gap year.  Worcester taught me the importance of throwing myself in at the deep end and not to be afraid of failure.  This ‘can-do’ attitude is a core aspect of the Worcester community, demonstrated by the huge range of opportunities available to organ scholars.  From regular commitments such as rehearsing the boy choristers and accompanying both choirs in services, to special events such as annual tours, recordings and concerts, there is never a dull moment.

    The options to tailor your time at Worcester are second to none: conducting the choirs, performing with ensembles and the wider college music scene, and working with contemporary composers in new commissions are just some of the ways I was able to make the most of my time at Worcester.

    For me, this gave me a firm footing for a career in church music.  Having been able to do so much in my three years at Worcester has opened up so many opportunities and connections that seemed unreachable to me as an applicant back in 2013.

  • Harpsichord masterclass by Professor Terence Charlston

    As part of the Chapel’s Epiphanytide Festival, Worcester College students had the opportunity to take part in an insightful and engaging masterclass given by Professor Terence Charlston, Chair of Historical Keyboard Instruments at the Royal College of Music.

    Students presented a selection of works and were able to learn from Professor Charlston’s expert guidance and extensive knowledge of the repertoire, from Rameau to Purcell, from invention to Partita. This is just one of the many ways in which Worcester’s students and musical community are able to benefit from the new and varied musical experiences during the course of a typical term.

    Third year music student and composer Adam Turner said:

    “The harpsichord masterclass was fascinating. A particular highlight for me was hearing Terry improvise on the instrument; I was struck by the beauty and the variety of the sound he created. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to try out my piano repertoire on the harpsichord, because the experience of playing the older instrument suggested to me several new interpretative directions, which were invisible to me at the piano keyboard. I warmly recommend this class to future generations of budding keyboard players!”

    Terence presented the class to an audience of guests, students and even a handful of the chapel choir’s boy choristers, each of whom had a go at playing the harpsichord before getting back to lessons.

    For some, the class was their first real experience on the harpsichord, and first year student Tom Wijessinghe remarked: “I really enjoyed taking part in the masterclass. As someone with little to no prior experience at the harpsichord I found Terry welcoming and helpful to answer even the most basic questions. I particularly enjoyed the depth of the teaching, especially in regard to his historical knowledge regarding the original context of the pieces.”

    For some, the class provided a thought-provoking set of ideas to apply to their piano playing:

    Second year music student David Palmer finds that “as a pianist, the Worcester harpsichord masterclasses are engaging, thought-provoking, and very revealing of pianistic habits that are not necessarily well-matched to the music itself. Terry’s teaching offered new perspectives that I will be able to apply to my piano playing, and certainly motivated me to further explore the harpsichord.”

    Postgraduate student Tom Metcalf played in the masterclass last year and presented a sarabande by Rameau:

    “It is always a pleasure to play in the harpsichord masterclasses at Worcester. Professor. Charlston’s fantastic insights on the music of Rameau and the courtly Sarabande have encouraged me to engage with the style further and refine my technique. I’m already looking forward to the next one!”

    The Chapel community and Director of Chapel Music are grateful to the support of Simon Neal for providing and tuning the harpsichord for the class and other events in the festival.

  • 'Electric' atmosphere and sold-out performances at Epiphany Festival

    JULIA ALSOP reflects on a weekend of exciting concerts and services.

    As first week comes rolling in during Hilary Term, the majority of chapel choirs prepare to get up and running again, working up to singing together again after a vac of indulgence and, in all likelihood, a break from frequent choral singing. However, the singers and musicians of Worcester College Chapel threw themselves straight into intense and ambitious music making with our new Epiphanytide Festival instead.

    Kicking off the festival, we began with a glowing Epiphany Carol Service. Featuring a range of repertoire from Praetorius to Dove, the popular service was an ethereal and special occasion to open the festival.

    Friday was a busy day. The afternoon featured a harpsichord masterclass in the chapel run by Professor Terence Charlston. With music from Purcell to Bach, the class featured five talented performers, all music students at Worcester College.

    MSt student Tom Metcalf described the experience, explaining that, “It is always a pleasure to play in the harpsichord masterclasses at Worcester. Prof. Charlston’s fantastic insights on the music of Rameau and the courtly sarabande have encouraged me to engage with the style further and refine my technique. I’m already looking forward to the next one!” Four of the choristers from the boys’ choir were also invited to watch the class, and were allowed to try the harpsichord afterwards – an exciting first for all of them.

    In the same evening, we were delighted to introduce a ‘Byrd & Beer’ event in the Sultan Nazrin Shah Building. Singing choir favourites such as Laudibus in Sanctis and O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth, interspersed with beer tastings from local brewery, Tap Social, and flourish-filled harpsichord works played by Tom Allery, the event was a fun and innovative way to experience glorious music in a less formal setting.

    The biggest event of the festival was, of course, the choir’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, a spectacular and beloved work. Inviting in professional strings and trumpets, as well as fantastic soloists, we produced an invigorating concert in an extraordinarily full chapel – who knew we could cram so many people in to enjoy the concert?

    It is perhaps worth also mentioning the, admittedly slightly geeky, way the choir prepared for singing Messiah. Sure – we spent hours working out where we could discretely add ornaments to our lines (if you sing alto, you can get away with adding pretty much anything when you’re in the middle of the texture, but I didn’t tell you that…), and mastering the intricacies of the runs. However, it was when Tom Allery, the director of music, tasked the choir of writing short poems about their favourite choruses from the oratorio, that we could all share how affectionately excited we had become about the work. It would only be right to share some of the best:
    ‘The chorus that is my bae,

    The one that I could listen to all day,

    Is ‘unto us a child is born’ –

    It’s like we’re entering a new dawn…’

    • Olivia Bracken (Soprano Choral Scholar)

    ‘There once was piece called Messiah

    that was sung by a fine college choir.

    With semis a killin’, and Dafydd a trillin’,

    That performance was really on fire!’

    • Adam Turner (Tenor Choral Scholar, on the completion of the performance)

    The final event, on Sunday, was a service of Latin Vespers, featuring a plethora of plainsong chant and Vivaldi’s Magnificat, for which we welcomed back the strings. The service was sung by both the mixed choir and the boys’ choir, and included beautiful solos from choral scholars. The boys were also delighted to learn more about the Baroque instruments used to accompany the choir (yes, those strings are made from real guts!)

    All in all, with a delicious musical programme (Handel, Vivaldi, Byrd and beyond within just a few days – is there anything better?!), the Epiphanytide Festival has enabled the choir to launch straight into the term’s musical life on a high. There is plenty more to look forward to later in this term, and next year’s Epiphanytide Festival will be just exciting (watch this space). We hope you enjoyed the events you attended, and if you didn’t manage, make sure you do next year!

  • Choir leads worship on longest-running daily radio programme

    MANCHESTER – Today the Choir was in the leafy suburb of Didsbury, Manchester, but their voices could be heard around the nation as they sang the music for the Daily Service, an act of worship heard each morning on BBC Radio 4 LW. With hymns, prayers, and readings, the Daily Service reaches into British kitchens and living rooms, and in some cases helps those who are shut in or can’t go to church feel that they are joining together in a community of worship.

    Led by the Revd Canon Stephen Shipley, a long-time friend of Worcester choir and regular Daily Service contributor, the service also featured a reading from Hebrews from the Chaplain.

    You can catch up with the broadcast at this link.

  • Worcester College to host new January festival with musical events for all

     Performances of Messiah, Vivaldi, and Epiphany carols to feature

    In January 2018, the iconic surroundings of Worcester College will play host to a brand new Epiphany Festival, featuring musical events and services which open the College, with its famous Chapel, gardens, and award-winning new Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre to the wider public, and showcase the talents of its students to new audiences.

    The Festival will begin on Thursday 18 January with a candle-lit Epiphany Carol Service (6 pm) celebrating the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem. Other highlights will be a performance of Handel’s Messiah (Saturday 20 January, 7 pm) and a service of Vespers featuring music by Antonio Vivaldi (Sunday 5.45 pm), both featuring the Chapel Choir and period instruments. The College’s latest building, the Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre (opened in October by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall) will be the venue for ‘Byrd and Beer’, a special beer tasting evening accompanied by the sounds of early music (Friday, 8 pm).

    The Epiphany Festival really has something for everyone — seasoned concertgoer, student, local resident, or someone looking for something a bit different.

    The Festival will also celebrate and link to academic research through events running alongside the performances. Friday will see a harpsichord masterclass given by keyboard specialist Terence Charlston, and both Vespers and Messiah will be preceded by introductory talks.

    Director of Music Thomas Allery remarks: ‘We are proud to showcase our students and open up our chapel and college community in several very different events in this first festival. We really want to provide something for everyone in this festival – whether in our performance of Handel’s Messiah, in an atmospheric and uplifting choral service, or through our ‘Byrd and beer’ evening where we link with local brewery Tap Social for a beer tasting evening accompanied by sixteenth century music. We want to provide a series of events for all, celebrating community, learning, and inclusivity.’

    Assistant Chaplain and lecturer in music Dr Matthew Cheung Salisbury adds: ‘As a college, we are proud to be located in the heart of Jericho. The extensive college grounds link to the middle of Jericho where many members of College staff live. We look forward to welcoming our immediate neighbours, as well as people from other parts of Oxford near and far, into our college community.’

    The Provost of Worcester College, Prof Sir Jonathan Bate, said: ‘On behalf of Worcester College, I warmly invite the people of Oxford to join us. There will be a wide range of music, from the Tudor polyphony of Byrd to the Georgian glory of Handel to the mighty organ works of Howells, offering something for everyone!’

     

     

  • Talented young composer wins Worcester Choir Carol Competition 2017

    This year’s competitors, who produced an extraordinarily strong field of submissions, were challenged with the poem Earth grown old, by Christina Rossetti:

     

    Earth grown old, yet still so green,

    Deep beneath her crust of cold

    Nurses fire unfelt, unseen:

    Earth grown old.

     

    We who live are quickly told:

    Millions more lie hid between

    Inner swathings of her fold.

     

    When will fire break up her screen?

    When will life burst thro’ her mould?

    Earth, earth, earth, thy cold is keen,

    Earth grown old.

    This year’s winner was Zoe Dixon, who studies at New College, Worcester. Her setting was performed at two College carol services at the end of Michaelmas Term, once in the presence of the composer.

    Director of Music, Thomas Allery, said: ‘We were really delighted with the quality of all of the submissions, but Zoe’s stands out for its sympathetic and natural setting of the text, and the choir very much enjoyed putting it together.’

    The Worcester College Carol Competition is an annual invitation to young composers (under the age of 26); each year, a new text is chosen. Stay tuned for news of next year’s competition!

     

  • Concert in London’s Theatreland attracts capacity crowd

    Musical enthusiasts, Worcester Old Members, and choir supporters were among the packed audience for Worcester Choir’s return visit to the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy in central London for a wonderful concert of Austro-Germanic repertoire and Tudor music for Compline in mid-November.

    The concert was part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London, to which Worcester have been invited for the last four years.

  • Worcester Choir brings music to the opening of the new Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre

    Members of Worcester Choir, directed by Thomas Allery, sang several choral fanfares during the Royal visit by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak to open Worcester’s new lecture theatre. The Choir were honoured to meet the royal guests after the unveiling of the dedication stone — just another day in the life of a Worcester choral scholar!

  • Life and works of English composer Robin Milford celebrated in Chapel

    Oxford was the setting for a vibrant weekend of concerts and services which brought to the fore the musical legacy of Robin Milford (d.1959), supported by the Trust which bears his name, on 21-22 October 2017.

     

    Attendees were treated to concerts by Mary-Jannet Leith and Thomas Allery (recorder and harpsichord), Duncan Honeybourne (piano), and Christopher Foster and Timothy End (voice and piano), as well as a recital by Worcester organists Alexander Palotai and Julia Alsop, and a Choral Evensong.

     

    Robin Milford’s works, God be in my head and Midwinter, can also be heard on the new Worcester Choir CD, Unfading Splendour, available now.